Despite the questionable ranking, the list shows that Rahman's impact on the music industry continues to be strong, despite complaints by some that he is not living up to his own standards or whatever. The consensus continues to show that he is the most highly regarded MD and that regardless of sales, people ADORE his music! I argue that perhaps he's changed some musical directions and modified or de- emphasized some of his signature strengths, but all in all, Rahman continues to be Rahman! His innovativeness is unmatched. And yes, I agree that Vishal B should be much higher ranked as I think that he is second to only Rahman in terms of pure originality and sheer musical genius. He's bollywood's best kept secret, both as MD and as film director. Now, which other person do you know who is both a competent director and MD at the same time? He's not as up front as say SEL or others, but man oh man, does his music have a punch and catch you by surprise! Here's my personal ranking for the top 5 MDs from 1997-2007:
1) Rahman 2) SEL (Above Vishal B only in terms of general appeal. Shankar Mahadevan is a powerhouse of a singer and composer and Ehsaan and Loy bring some very unique musical contributions to create a trio that makes music so amazingly likeable and positive, combining class with mass) 3) Vishal B (Most brilliant musician after Rahman) 4) Anu Malik (I don't like his personality from what I know, but I gotta hand it to him, he's come out with some good stuff over a span of time) 5) Ismail Darbar (Limited albums, but quite an impact. Again, don't like his personality from what I know) Among the more recent MDs, my favorites are Vishal Shekar, Shantanu Moitra, and to some extent, Aadesh Shrivastava (his "Dev" was amazing). In terms of sales, gotta hand it to Jatin Lalit and Nadeem Shravan, though their music is mostly cliched bollywood mediocrity; (exception would be Fannah from JL, which was very very good). --- In [email protected], "Ricky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Totally agree with Rahman being at the top. > > But the rest of the list is quite biased and not objective. For > starters, Late Madan Mohan as no 2!! For just one album, which > arguably was still not the best. I mean compare 'desh' from Veer > Zaara v.s. 'Yeh jo des hai tera' from Swades. Not being biased, the > later is just so superior. By attaching the name of a superb music > composer of a past, does not ensure that today's album can be a > classic. > > Also, the ranking of Vishal at the bottom is really unfortunate, > since after Rahman, it is arguably Vishal who comes up with > innovative tunes. Whether its Satya, Ramji Londonwale, Omkara, or the > latest No-smoking ... he has shown time and again that he can compose > well. Compare that with Uttam Singh - the one album wonder, or > Ismail - the three album wonder!!! > > In that case why is Jatin Lalit or Anand Raj Anand not on the list. > Consider Chalte Chalte or Humtum or Fannah; or the mind blowing > Kaante with such amazing compositions as Saaki or Rabba. > > Gosh..now I am wondering why I am even replying to this top 10 list, > when obviously the people who came up with it did have really shallow > listening of the bollywood music. > > -Ricky > > --- In [email protected], > "magician_syed" <magician_syed@> wrote: > > > > Top 10 Music Directors 1997-2007 > > > > > > > > 1997-2007 - 10 years of Bollywood - 10 years of RadioSargam > > > > Top 10 Music Directors 1997-2007 > > > > Radiosargam collects the best music composers rhyming the tunes of > > Hindi Film Industry from the past ten years. > > > > Year 1997: Uttam Singh (Dil To Pagal Hai) > > The music of Dil To Pagal Hai is splendid, with a mixture of Indian > > instruments and no electronically generated music. Uttam Singh does > a > > commendable job in DTPH. > > > > Year 1998: A.R Rehman (Dil Se) > > Dil Se is one of the best albums of Hindi Film Industry. A.R.Rehman > > made another landmark with the success of Dil Se. The tracks give > you > > the Rehman feel and innovation at its best. > > > > > > Year 1999: A.R Rehman (Taal) > > Taal was the first time A. R. Rahman set tunes to Anand Bakshi's > > lyrics. With Taal > > Rehman once again proved that he's the most creative music director > > of today's times. > > > > Year 2000: Rajesh Roshan (Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai) > > Rajesh Roshan's much anticipated Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai made record > sales > > in music. Rajesh Roshan also introduced Lucky Ali as a mainstream > > commercial films singer. The album had it all for every music lover. > > > > Year 2001: A.R Rehman (Lagaan) > > A.R. Rahman's 3rd period album in Hindi after "Earth" and > "Zubeidaa" > > and this is arguably the best of the lot. Mixing sounds from Indian > > classical, folk, and Western classical music - Rahman succeeds in > > creating a mood for the world of the film > > > > Year 2002: A.R Rehman (Saathiya) > > Though, A.R Rehman in Saathiya was not at his best but still > managed > > to become the best soundtrack of the year. Probably, I am expecting > a > > little bit more from the music king. His pair with Gulzar saab gave > > out a track which had something to look out for. > > > > Year 2003: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy (Kal Ho Naa Ho) > > It is probably not a classic and will be forgotten completely in > the > > coming years but still Kal Ho Naa Ho has something for every music > > lover. From the soft melody title track to the disco number, from > > western-punjabi folk to techno beats, the album stands out as the > > best album of the year by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. > > > > Year 2004: Late Madan Mohan (Veer Zaara) > > Yesteryear's maestro Late Madan Mohan's tunes are conceived by his > > son Sanjeev Kohli and presented in a new avtaar in Yash Chopra's > Veer > > Zaara. The music of Veer Zaara is likeable and it grows on you as > you > > hear it a couple of times. The soundtrack is a break from the new > > generation world of loud and techno music with unwanted remixes. > > > > Year 2005: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy (Bunty Aur Babli) > > Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have created history through this album. The > album > > is fresh and has no Rehman feel for a change. The music trio try to > > infuse different beats together and rope in different singers for > > different tracks, which makes it a must buy album. > > > > Year 2006: A.R Rehman (Rang De Basanti) > > Rang De Basanti fits the bill for the kind of music that will be > > liked by today's generation. A.R. Rehman fires out top quality > songs > > which catch your attention instantly. I would suggest you to get a > > headphone and hear the sound close to your ears, you'll just love > it. > > > > Rank 1: A.R Rehman > > Rank 2: Late Madan Mohan > > Rank 3: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy > > Rank 4: Pritam Chakraborty > > Rank 5: Anu Malik > > Rank 6: Ismail Darbar > > Rank 7: Himesh Reshammiya > > Rank 8: Uttam Singh > > Rank 9: Rajesh Roshan > > Rank 10: Vishal Bhardwaj > > >
